UNICEF and BMW Group partner upto bridge the STEM gap

To help address South Africa’s skills gap and high youth unemployment, BMW Group has partnered with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on an initiative called BRIDGE. The project aims to do just that: to bridge the gap between learning and earning. It focuses on empowering young people by strengthening science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education across the country, at a time when millions of STEM-related jobs globally are projected to be unfilled due to a lack of qualified candidates. 

The BRIDGE initiative took centre stage at the latest Mail & Guardian Critical Thinking Forum themed “Educating young people for tomorrow, today”, held in partnership with BMW Group South Africa and UNICEF South Africa on 1 August 2024 in Sandton. 

“In this fast-changing world, new skill sets are required, and we must be discussing the balance between hard and soft skills,” said UNICEF Deputy Representative Irfan Akhtar. “Because the skills needed by past generations are not the same skills needed today.” 

The event brought together government, education, industry experts and youth advocates to discuss the future of STEM education in the country and engage with the critical challenge of equipping young people with the skills needed for tomorrow’s job market. 

BMW Group Head of Corporate Social Responsibility Tebogo Ramagoshi set the tone for the discussion by outlining the reach and impact of the BRIDGE partnership since its inception in 2023: “This initiative shows that as the private sector, we can be part of the solution, and support the government and organisations like UNICEF to ensure that STEM-skills are embedded from a young age, so that no child is left behind.”

She says that over the past year, the BRIDGE partnership has trained over 570 educators from six provinces in coding and robotics: “We have also trained 90 subject specialists from all provinces to support these educators. This has benefited 36 000 learners from 100 schools. By the end of the year, we hope to have reached 50 000 learners. In addition one coding and robotics lab has been established, and four more will be before the end of the year.”

STEM skills to bridge the gap 

The forum took place against South Africa’s groundbreaking plans to develop a coding and robotics curriculum for learners from a young age. “We are the first country in the world to introduce coding and robotics as an official subject from Grade R,” announced Seliki Tlhabane, Chief Director at the Department of Basic Education (DBE), during the panel discussion. This is significant, considering that globally the sector is worth about $3 billion. 

He was joined in conversation by Mbasa Kepe, Head of Government and External Affairs at BMW Group South Africa and Hana Yoshimoto, UNICEF South Africa’s Chief of Education. 

Tlhabane explained that the BRIDGE partnership’s goals of strengthening educators’ capacity to deliver STEM education, promoting and improving robotics and coding facilities in schools, and providing access to job shadowing and mentorship opportunities for learners and young people aligned with national plans and the department’s commitment to improving STEM education nationwide. “Technology is not the enemy and should not be seen as a threat,” he emphasised. “It is a resource and an opportunity.”  

Future-proofed skills for the workplace of tomorrow

He said that while artificial intelligence, machine learning and automation might be new, conversations surrounding future-proofed skills were not. “We have been asking questions about what skills our children might need since the beginning of time, and at the dawn of each new industrial revolution,” he said. 

He acknowledged, however, that the pace of change currently experienced was unprecedented in human history: “We need long-term solutions for a fast evolving world. The jobs of tomorrow are driven by technology, and technology, on its own, is a product of STEM. That is why this conversation is critical.”

Yoshimoto agreed that improved access to quality STEM education is critical to prepare young people for future work opportunities and nurturing tech-savvy entrepreneurs, especially given South Africa’s stubbornly high unemployment rate of around 35.5%. “STEM education and digital skills development can be used to impact the lives of vulnerable young people, and investing in this is a way to narrow the skills gap and bridge the digital divide,” she emphasised.

“STEM is very crucial for the future lives of young people. It is not just for work, it’s for day-to-day lives.” 

Balancing skills and opportunities  

While the panel acknowledged STEM as a turbo-charger of global economic strength, the discussion also highlighted the importance of balancing technical know-how and essential soft skills such as critical thinking, creativity and collaboration. 

This, stressed Yoshimoto, would be critical to help learners navigate social issues and prepare them for a competitive labour market: “The jobs of tomorrow will require not just technical proficiency, but also adaptability, problem-solving and interpersonal skills. By strengthening STEM education and soft skills, we aim to improve the transition from learning to earning, especially for the most vulnerable learners in disadvantaged communities.”

A key point of discussion was the need for innovative approaches to ensure equitable access to these educational opportunities, especially for rural learners. Key challenges include a lack of equipment and the cost of new technologies, which become outdated and should be replaced every seven years. To ensure that every child benefits from the new curriculum, the department announced that it is rolling out both “plugged” and “unplugged” coding programmes, the latter of which does not require computers or equipment. 

The panellists also explored other solutions like mobile classrooms and public-private partnerships to reach students in all communities, regardless of their socioeconomic background. 

Public-private partnerships are key

The private sector’s role in bridging the education-employment gap was highlighted by Mbasa Kepe, BMW Group South Africa’s Head of Government and External Affairs: “Our collaboration goes beyond corporate social responsibility. It’s about creating a sustainable workforce and fostering innovation to drive our industry and the broader economy forward. Through this partnership, we address the skills gap while inspiring students from underrepresented groups to pursue STEM careers.”

Tlhabane agreed that business also has an important role in “informing the government on what they need and the type of employee they envisage”. These conversations guide curriculum development and ensure work readiness. 

All hands on deck 

As South Africa grapples with a changing job market, the panellists agreed that the path forward will require a multifaceted approach that encompasses robust curricula, teacher training, industry partnerships and innovative delivery methods. And while the challenges ahead are significant, so is the collective will to overcome them. 

This, explained Ramagoshi, is what success would look like: “We will know that this project and this partnership have succeeded when we find ourselves coming together for our yearly robotics and coding competitions and we are met with a room full of learners from both rural and private schools, competing at the same level without visible inequalities, and every child can participate and showcase their skills because they have received the same sort of learning opportunities.” 

In the race to prepare for the future of work, ensuring that no child is left behind will require an all-hands-on-deck approach. “To build a bridge requires different materials, stakeholders and expertise; and to bridge this gap we need the same,” Yoshimoto explained. “No one organisation or entity can achieve this alone, and operating in silos is detrimental. South Africa has a rich ecosystem of partners supporting children and young people, but if we work in silos we don’t know how much of an impact we are making.” 

Communities are also responsible for safeguarding and protecting educational institutions, resources and equipment, Tlhabane added. These should be viewed as investments in comprehensive, accessible STEM education that have the power to shape the workforce, economy and society of tomorrow: We owe it to South Africa to ensure that we supply the nation with suitably qualified people who will drive the economy, and we owe it to our children to ensure that they’ve got the right skills to survive and thrive going forward.”

With continued collaboration between government, international organisations, private sector partners, educational institutions and communities, South Africa is well-positioned to equip its youth for the digital age and the workplace of tomorrow.